Chapter I

"But mother!..."

"I said no! Now go! GO!"

"Sir! We can't turn it! We're too close!"

"Turn the sails I said! Do it, or be ready to never see the sun again!"

"She's not turnin' fast enough sir! We're gonna hit the rocks!"

"Throw out the oars! Hold on, men!"

"God, save us…"

The sun had just peaked over the horizon. It colored the calm waves of the Veiled Sea with the colors of the dawn. But what they carried towards the shore had not been seen, not ever, by this serene location.

Tenin Nuada was so startled that he dropped his fishing rod in the water. Never before had he witnessed a sight like the one before his eyes now.

He had come all the way down to the roots of Teldrassil just to fish. Somehow, all the goodies where winding up down there. And when the wave of debris washed up, he was horrified. Tenin had never seen a ship, neither of the Horde, nor of the Alliance – so horribly broken. Hundreds upon hundreds of pieces were floating in the water, without the barest hint of a survivor.

"In the name of Elune… this is… must have been a nightmare…"

His eyes examined every piece of what barely resembled a ship. He found it to be human, the flag of the Alliance being the only thing in one part. Then Tenin opened his mouth to gasp, but the sound didn't find its way out – along the banner he saw the small figure of a girl.

Without a second thought he jumped off the root and started swimming with all his speed.

Within a short time he had managed to drag the wreckage's only survivor to the shore. Tenin laid her down on the sand and sat to catch his breath. Then he looked at the girl. She was human, and looked very young, almost a child. She was barely breathing and he knew that if she wasn't properly taken care of, her last day on Azeroth would be this one.

"But I don't know how to help her! And the nearest village is three days away!" He began to think of a way to get help, fast. He was alone and had no one to send, too. Luckily, as he then remembered, his sister Sanaha, a very capable priest, upon her visit to the Eastern Kingdoms had been trained to create portals. She lacked the ease and accuracy with which mages could create such gateways, but the case called for speed rather than ease. Then Tenin's hope crumbled – his sister currently resided in the capital, attending to her studies. He cupped his face I his hands and sighed.

Meanwhile the girl had turned much more pale. Tenin touched her face – she was very cold and was breathing ever so lightly. He was about to curse out loud when suddenly, he heard someone shouting from the distance.

"Tenin! Are you ever going to stop?! Wait up already!" It was his sister.

"Sanaha? What are you doing way down here?"

"Ohh…" Sanaha leaned on the huge roots to catch her breath. After a few moments she took a deep breath and answered. "I know it's insane, but I've been following you for three whole days, ever since you left the capital. I shouted after you, I sent firebolts, but who's to see! Our boy is either both deaf and blind or I'm invisible! You're needed in Darnassus and if you don't…"

"Sanaha! Be quiet for a minute, won't you…" He interrupted his sister's angry tirade but she had really gotten into scolding him.

"Don't you silence me! Your master is getting impatient and if you fail to show up once more, I will, yet again, have to be the one to save your skin! But if you continue to keep your ears shut, I vow I will…"

"SANAHA! Look!"

Sanaha wasn't pleased to have her rants interrupted but she looked to the ground and finally noticed the girl.

"Praise Elune, is she alright? Why didn't you tell me straightforward?" she said. "Well, it isn't like I didn't try" Tenin said sarcastically. But his sister didn't notice him, she had knelt before the girl and was touching her throat. She shook her head worriedly.

Tenin watched as she waved her hand over the girl's face and whispered words in an unknown language.

Suddenly opened her eyes and started couching out water. Tenin quickly knelt down next to her to support her back.

After a few moments, the girl, who seemed not to have noticed the two night elves beside her, looked at them with panic. She struggled out of Tenin's hands, jumped up to her feet and started screaming. Tenin and Sanaha exchanged glances which said: "She's mad, isn't she?", but there was a good reason for the girl's fright – she had never seen night elves before.

"Stand back, don't touch me you!... You…" she shouted and then eyed them with a frown.

Tenin decided to act friendly and tried to calm her down. "It's alright. We will not hurt you. But, tell us, what has happened to you?"

The girl frowned even more and looked at him with confusion. "What… did you say?" she asked.

Tenin turned to his sister. "Why doesn't she understand me? Has she had brain damage or something?" His sister rolled her glowing eyes. "Because you spoke in Darnassian! How do you expect a human to know it? And apparently, she's never seen elves before."

Tenin felt a bit embarrassed. "I knew that… I was just making sure you knew." For a moment they'd forgotten the girl standing near them who had yet to understand a word they'd said.

"What in the world are you creatures saying?" she asked impatiently.

Sanaha sighed and asked the girl in common: "Don't be alarmed, we won't hurt you. Tell us, what's happened to you, how did you end up on this beach?"

The girl hesitated to answer. She looked round nervously. "Well… I was traveling on a ship with my mother. We set out from Menethil with some ambassadors on board. We were supposed to reach Theramore at nightfall but those damned sailors had their charts wrong! We ended up being drawn over by the currents just past Moonglade, was it… Then this terrible storm started… I was so frightened… All I remember is that the captain was shouting to us to hold on to something. Then the ship crashed into something, but I doubt it was rocks, it's crazy, but as much as I saw, what we crashed into looked like giant roots, I think… and I ended up here."

When she finished, she looked at Sanaha for a reaction. She smiled to her brother and he smiled back. He turned to the girl.

"What is your name, little one?" he asked in common.

"S-Siana" she stuttered.

Sanaha smiled to her. "Well, Siana, I believe you owe thanks to my brother, Tenin", she pointed to her brother, "because he is the one who rescued you from a watery grave"

Siana's eyes widened. She looked at Tenin with curiosity and he returned her gaze. She stepped unsurely towards him – in her eyes he appeared a giant, her head barely reached his shoulder. She stretched her hand to him. "Thanks, I think" she said. Tenin smiled and nodded. Siana felt odd because he didn't take her hand, so she stretched it closer to him. He still wasn't taking it and was looking at her with confusion. She grew impatient.

"Take my hand!"

Tenin was still confused. "Why?" He began stretching his hand towards hers anyway.

"Well, that's what people do when they have something to be thankful for." she explained. "We shake hands."

She took his hand and shook it. "Thank you!" she said again.

Then she turned her eyes to Sanaha, expecting something. Sanaha came close to her and unsurely stretched her hand with a smile. "Welcome to Teldrassil, little one!"

"I'm not little – um, thanks." Siana shook her hand.

"I'm Sanaha."

Siana nodded with a shy smile. "So, what kind of island is this and why are we standing upon giant roots?!" she asked looking up where nothing but Teldrassil's enormous stalk was visible.

Sanaha chuckled and said "This is no island, Siana. It's a tree!"

Siana looked up. Then down. Then up. Then at Sanaha. "This. Is. A. Tree?" – the most curious expression was on her face.

Sanaha nodded. "Yes, it is."

Siana looked up again.

And then fainted.